U.S. SPY AGENCIES SAY RUSSIA LIKELY BEHIND HACKING OF GOV’T AGENCIES

The office of the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said Russia was “likely” behind a string of hacks identified last month that gained access to several federal agencies, Joseph Menn reported for Reuters.

The office, along with the FBI, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a joint statement the hackers’ goal appeared to be collecting intelligence, rather than any destructive acts.

They said they had so far identified “fewer than 10” agencies that were hacked.

The agencies said that the actor, “likely Russian in origin, was responsible for most or all of the recently discovered, ongoing cyber compromises of both government and non-governmental networks.”

The investigation is continuing, they said, and could turn up additional government victims. It was the first formal statement of attribution by the Trump administration.

Elected officials briefed on the inquiry and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had previously said Russia was behind the hacking spree, but President Donald Trump said it could have been China. The incoming administration of Joe Biden has already promised a response to the SolarWinds hacks.

On Tuesday, the top Democrats on the Congressional intelligence committees underscored that need. Meanwhile, Trump is doing nothing and insisting that he won the election after Joe Biden’s victory was certified and affirmed that the outgoing president lost to Biden by nearly 8 million votes.

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